Canon i9900 printer leaving streaks on prints

[hntr752]

I have the canon i9900 and love the quality of the prints. I have had this a little over a year and in the last 4 months have had it in for repair 4 times. I thankfully have an extended warranty on it. It is leaving streaks and lines vertically on my prints. They have replaced the printhead 2 times and just cleaned twice. Each time I get it back I can print about 200 prints and it starts again. I use it pretty heavy...about 100 to 150 prints per week...and I suppose that is fairly heavy?I do the deep clean cycle several times (have done up to 10 times in a row...wasting ink) but sometimes it will give me 20 or 25 good prints then the streaks start again. I have tried several papers and I do use generic ink...any ideas to pass along anyone? I am new to this place and sent one just before this, but did not do it correctly...sorry ya'll.

[VTphotog]

I see you haven't had any replies yet, so I will see if I can start something.:evil:

Most cases I have seen or heard of usually are related to the feed rollers, or in some cases, the 'pizza wheels' used to guied the paper. Often, the problem is due to ink not drying fast enough, and smearing slightly. One solution has been to disable bi-directional printing, called high speed by Epson. This slows things down enough to allow the necessary drying time. Possibly the generic ink is contributing to this.

Another thing you might try, is to run a cleaning sheet every so many prints, to keep any ink residue off the rollers.

These are just best guesses from someone not familiar with your printer.

brian

[jhunter752]

thanks...will take a try at some of this...just got out of shop again...seems to be 2 great weeks then there it goes again...prints text great...just photo pics....it has to be in the print head because when I run the nozzle check some of my colors have streaks in the print out...at least this is what the Canon tech told me and said after 2 deep cleaning cycles in a row if it does not correct it is a nozzle this is not firing or is clogged...am willing to try anything tho...thank you.

[BrierS]

Though this may be frowned on by some, it has worked for me. Having streaking, using a consistent brand of non-OEM ink cartridges, I have removed the print head, soaked it in alcohol, air dried and put back together. So far, so good. I have had the i9900 since they first came out, have never replaced anything except ink cartridges and continue to print greeting cards, photos and everything else I need it for. As I get deeper into the photo aspect, I may upgrade to the PIXMA 9950 yet in the mean time, I'll keep using the alcohol bath to keep my i9900 printing good.
Steve

[cliffy007]

first order a new printer head from canon(aprox.$150 or free if under warranty)do not tell them you are using generic inks or the warranty is voided. then order inks that are perfectly calibrated for the same canon viscosity.I can supply you with the name of an ink dealer with perfect canon style inks if you cant find any.you wil get perfect resluts indefinatly.

[BrierS]

As just stated above, I also finally took the plunge and replaced the head. My earlier stated cleaning worked for awhile yet that time finally came. I would also be interested in learning about your ink source. I do not fear using non-oem inks in my i9900 but stick with the originals in my Pro9500.

[Softball]

Originally Posted by BrierS

Though this may be frowned on by some, it has worked for me. Having streaking, using a consistent brand of non-OEM ink cartridges, I have removed the print head, soaked it in alcohol, air dried and put back together. So far, so good. I have had the i9900 since they first came out, have never replaced anything except ink cartridges and continue to print greeting cards, photos and everything else I need it for.

My i9900 is streaking, too. I will try Steve's suggestion. Moments ago I implemented his suggestion by eviscerating the print head from the printer. Here are the details in bullet form without the bullets:

The streaking consists of a faint blue or black line on every photo that is printed. The streak runs 1 inch wide. The paper size is 8.5 x 11.5. The streak runs 8.5 inches long.

I called Canon and they suggested doing not 1 but 3 deep cleanings. And I did. That did not help. Canon suggested waiting 24 hours after you do 3 deep cleanings. I did not. I jumped the gun and implemented Steve's suggestion.

Steve did not say how long to soak the head in alcohol. I decided to soak it for 24 hours. At this point, it has been soaking for about 30 minutes.

Steve did not say what mix the solution should be. I wanted to use 100% alcohol, but I could not, because I had very little rubbing alcohol. The solution came out to approximately 75% water and 25% rubbing alcohol.

Removing the print head was easy, it did not require any tools.

History: My i9900 would sit on the shelf for 3-6 months every year. I would then dust it off and print out approximately 5-20 prints. Repeat cycle. It was never used for commercial reasons. I have owned it for approximately 10 years. It can be said that my i9900 'was rarely used.'

If soaking it in alcohol does not remove the faint blue/black streak, I will attempt to sell the defective unit on Craigslist. I will inform the public about the streaking. There may be a potential buyer who thinks they are a gifted technician from another planet.

I've been thinking about adding a touch of hydrogen peroxide to the mix of water and alcohol, but that idea comes from a mad scientist with a dubious history.

[VTphotog]

Is the i9900 ink considered waterproof? If so, the more water you add to the alcohol, the less effective it will be. Drug stores usually sell rubbing alcohol in two strengths - 70%, which is standard, and 91%, which is better for use as a solvent. Some printer inks are not very soluble in alcohol, though - Epson inks need ammonia, but I'm not sure about Canon. Try moistening a cotton swab in each, and wiping a print (one you don't care about) to see which has more effect.
Printers usually have wiping surfaces to clean the print head as it comes out of the parked position, and these surfaces can pick up ink residue and drag it across the print head, leaving streaks, as well.

[Softball]

Originally Posted by VTphotog

Some printer inks are not very soluble in alcohol, though - Epson inks need ammonia, but I'm not sure about Canon. Try moistening a cotton swab in each, and wiping a print (one you don't care about) to see which has more effect.
Printers usually have wiping surfaces to clean the print head as it comes out of the parked position, and these surfaces can pick up ink residue and drag it across the print head, leaving streaks, as well.

Is that to say you would soak your print head in a bowl or small tub that contains 100% ammonia? If so, how long would you let it soak?